Zach Miller made the Bears' final catch Sunday at Soldier Field. Final minute, dart from quarterback Mike Glennon, 11-yard gain. With an improbable upset there for the taking, the Bears had marched 77 yards in 12 plays. They had first-and-goal at the Falcons' 5-yard line. Down by six, they had 21 seconds left.

They had the defending NFC champions reeling. And they believed the spirited effort they had brought all afternoon would result in a victory.

"The belief was we're going to win this thing 24-23," Miller said. "It was there."

Alas, Sunday ended as so many game-day afternoons have for the Bears in recent years. With dejection. With a failure to get over the hump. With a stinging 23-17 loss and realizations of how much different the transition into Week 2 could've been.

"The storyline would be so much different," Miller said. "Which is unfortunate. … I thought we could surprise some people. We had our opportunity. That would've been great — for us, for our organization, four our fans and our city. To knock off the NFC champs and damn-near world champions, it would have been a great start to our season."

Instead …

The bad news

With four plays from the 5 in the final 21 seconds, Glennon misfired on his final three passes and failed to throw a fourth. Each brought its own disappointment. On first down, Glennon threw to Josh Bellamy breaking toward the left side of the end zone. Bellamy, with arms outstretched, got both hands on the ball but failed to catch it.

"It was close," Glennon said. "I think I led him a little too much. We'll see on film what we could do better next time."

On second down, Jordan Howard bobbled and dropped a Glennon pass at the 1, an inexcusable blunder at a key moment. Had Howard caught the ball, he likely would've plowed in for a game-winning score.

Glennon targeted Miller on third down, in the middle of the field and in the end zone. The pass was low.

"We had a shot at it," Miller said. "We may have to work out timing or something."

And on the Bears' final play? Glennon never saw what he wanted, had a cluttered pocket and never felt pressure coming from defensive end Brooks Reed. The Bears quarterback never got rid of the ball and was sacked.

Nine-yard loss. Game over.

Photos from the Bears-Falcons Week 1 game at Soldier Field on Sept. 10, 2017.

The good news

The Bears defense held the Falcons to 23 points, 11 points below their scoring average last season. The Falcons scored 24 points or more in 17 of 19 games last season, including the postseason. So it's worth commending the Bears defense for Sunday's effort.

The Falcons averaged just 2.8 yards per run. Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks had two sacks. Cornerbacks Marcus Cooper and Kyle Fuller helped limit Julio Jones to four catches for 66 yards with the Falcons' top receiver targeted just once after halftime.

Still, all those positives come with asterisks. The confusion that left tight end Austin Hooper uncovered for an 88-yard fourth-quarter touchdown catch was startling. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Hicks one series earlier was also costly, turning a third-down stop into a Falcons first down that prolonged a field-goal drive. The defense also failed to create a takeaway for the 13th time in their last 24 games.

Extra point

Glennon's debut — 26-for-40, 213 yards, no turnovers — was satisfactory but will do little to quiet outside cries for rookie Mitch Trubisky to start. That's just the Bears' reality in 2017 and will be all year.

Glennon was sacked four times and seemed slow at times in getting the ball out. At one point, the Bears went 26 minutes, 41 seconds between completions (20 plays and three passes). Glennon's longest completion was a 22-yard pass to Dion Sims in the fourth quarter. But he protected the ball, worked within the game plan and showed strong composure, particularly on the final drive.

"The guys responded pretty well to him," Bears coach John Fox said. "It wasn't always smooth. Like all opening games, they're not oiled up real well. … But all in all, he operated the team very well."

Up next

The Bears are scheduled to play the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Week 2. But it remains to be seen whether the impact of Hurricane Irma will impact the logistics of that game. The Bucs had their season opener against the Dolphins in Miami postponed until Week 11 because of the hurricane.

Final word

"That's the NFL. It's just what it is. … You've got to win your close games." — Fox, reconciling the Bears' encouraging effort with the reality that they couldn't make a game-winning play.